BBC Entertainment Channel

Although most of this blog will about the DVDs I watch, we also have a cable TV service. We upgraded it last year which gave us the BBC Entertainment Channel. This made a change from the usual American fare from the other channels.

Hallmark at times runs a British series. At the moment they have "Midsummer Murders" and "Wire in the Blood". Last year they had "Doc Martin" which I enjoyed. But back to the BBC Entertainment. At times you think it's run by two men and their dog, but this is the Beeb so there must be a cast of thousands. They have the strangest schedule I have ever come across with double-headers common. Programs are repeated many time during the week and seem to come back again in the 6-9 month region. They get mixed up themselves on what's on as I've seen them advertising "New Street Law" was about to come on when in fact it was "New Tricks".

Let me give you a taste with tomorrow morning's schedule.

00:00 Afterlife
00:50 The Weakest Link
01:35 New Street Law
02:30 Spine Chillers
03:00 Murder Most Horrid
03:30 Murder Most Horrid
04:00 Goodness Gracious Me
04:30 As Time Goes By
05:00 The Weakest Link
05:45 Big Strong Boys
06:15 Big Strong Boys
06:45 Rick Stein's Seafood Lover's Guide
07:15 Murder Most Horrid
07:45 Murder Most Horrid
08:15 Goodness Gracious Me
08:45 The Weakest Link
09:30 Afterlife
10:25 Afterlife
11:15 Waking the Dead
12:10 Murder Most Horrid
12:40 Murder Most Horrid

Of this I will probably watch Rick Stein while I pedal my exercise bike and dream of cooking some of his recipes. I do wish they would come up with something other than those double-headers though. I quite like Dawn French but two shows on the trot are too much.

Of course the problem is not just the Beeb's or even the Cable TV's in general, it's me. I got used to not watching the box. Now I feel guilty about watching programs that are not worth it. I'm reading less which is a shame. Also with the DVDs I'm getting, mainly from Amazon UK, I can watch better than average programs at a time of my choosing. I suspect in a few years watching a cable channel will seem ancient technology as we will have 'on demand programs' over the internet. I already get my radio that way.